Prawns with Crushed Mustard Seeds
This recipe originates from Bengal, where a paste made from ground black mustard seeds is often added to fish to give it a very special nose-tingling pungency. Serve with a rice dish, one or two vegetable side dishes and a natural yoghurt relish.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons tomato purée
- 4 tablespoons mustard oil or other vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 2 thin slices fresh root ginger peeled
- 1 hot dried red chilli
- 450 g 1lb raw, headless prawns, peeled, de-veined and washed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
Instructions
- Crush the mustard seeds, using a pestle and mortar or spice or coffee grinder.
- In a small bowl, mix the crushed mustard seeds, turmeric and tomato purée, together with 3 tablespoons hot water.
- Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat.
- Add the garlic cloves, ginger slices and dried chilli and fry, stirring, for a few seconds until the mixture begins to darken, then add the prawns.
- Fry, stirring, until the prawns turn opaque.
- Stir in the mustard seed paste and turn the heat to medium–low.
- Add the salt, pepper and lemon or lime juice.
- Fry, stirring, for a further 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving dish.